Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Armed Merchantmen has come to mean merchant ships equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. A merchant vessel is a Ship that transports Cargo and Passengers during peace time In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in long distance and high value trade. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping The most famous of this type were the East Indiamen which were known to be able to defeat regular warships in battle. An East Indiaman was a Ship operating under charter or licence to the Honourable East India Company. A ship-of-the-line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th century through the mid-19th century to take part in the the naval tactic known as the Line of battle

Contents

Pre-20th century

Main article: East Indiaman

East Indiamen of various European countries were heavily armed for their long journeys to the Far East. An East Indiaman was a Ship operating under charter or licence to the Honourable East India Company. An East Indiaman was a Ship operating under charter or licence to the Honourable East India Company. The Far East is a term often used by people in the Western world to refer to the countries of East Asia. In particularly dangerous times, such as when the home countries were at war, a convoy system would be used whereby the ships were escorted by a warship. A convoy is a group of Vehicles (of any type but usually motor vehicles or ships traveling together for mutual support A warship is a Ship that is built and primarily intended for Combat. However, many East Indiamen also travelled on their own, and therefore were armed to the same standard as a ship of the line in order to defend themselves against pirates and privateers. A ship-of-the-line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th century through the mid-19th century to take part in the the naval tactic known as the Line of battle Maritime piracy, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS of 1982, consists of any criminal acts of violence detention A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping

Development of Auxiliary Cruisers[1]

20th century

These were used in both World Wars by both Germany and the United Kingdom. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Whilst the British used armed passenger liners for protecting their shipping, the German approach was to use them to attack enemy shipping.

Armed merchant cruisers

The Armed Merchant Cruisers (AMC) of the British Navy were employed for convoy protection against enemy warships. A convoy is a group of Vehicles (of any type but usually motor vehicles or ships traveling together for mutual support They were found to be of limited usefulness because they lacked warship armour and used local control of guns rather than director fire-control systems. Note the term " fire control " may also refer to means of stopping a fire such as sprinkler systems A fire-control system Many were converted into troopships.

One famous AMC of World War I was the British RMS Carmania which, after a heated battle which caused heavy damage on both sides, succeeding in sinking the German auxiliary cruiser Cap Trafalgar near the Brazilian island of Trinidade in 1914. History When launched the Carmania and her sister ship the Caronia, were the largest ships in the Cunard fleet and two of the fastest in the world since they Early Career She was originally a large Ocean liner built for passenger use at the Bremer Vulkan Shipyard on the Weser River in Bremen, The islands of Trindade (occasionally called Trinidad and Martim Vaz (also called Martin Vaz which are located about 1200 km East of Vitória in the [2]

Auxiliary cruiser

Main article: merchant raider

The German practice was to arm merchantmen with hidden weapons and use them as commerce raiders. Merchant raiders are Ships which disguise themselves as Non-combatant Merchant vessels whilst actually being armed and intending to attack enemy commerce Commerce raiding is to destroy the logistics (supplies of an enemy on the open sea rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a Blockade against them An auxiliary cruiser - Hilfskreuzer or Handels-Stör-Kreuzer (HSK) - usually approached her target under a false flag with guns concealed, and sometimes with her appearance altered with fake funnels and masts and often a fake paint job. The victim was thus engaged at point-blank range and had no chance to escape. In World War I, the Imperial German Navy initially used fast passenger ships (such as past holders of the Blue Riband for fastest North Atlantic crossings), but they made obvious and easy targets because of their very familiar silhouettes. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Kaiserliche Marine or Imperial Navy was the German Navy created by the formation of the German Empire. For use of the related term "Blue Ribbon" see Blue ribbon (disambiguation. The Germans therefore soon moved on to using captured and refitted Allied vessels, but principally only modified transport ships. The Entente Powers (from Triple Entente) were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. These were slower, but less recognizable. In both world wars, these ships were found to be vulnerable to attack, and were withdrawn before the war ended. Many were sunk after being caught by regular warships - an unequal battle since auxiliary cruisers had poor fire control and no armor. There were, however, a few success stories. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Große was a former passenger liner that sank two freighters in 1914 before being caught by HMS Highflyer. Career She was built by Vulcan shipyards in Stettin and launched on 4 May 1897 Career Pre-1914 Like her sisters she was a development of the earlier ''Eclipse'' class with an uprated 6 inch main armament water tube boilers and slightly Her sister ship, the Kronprinz Wilhelm, had a legendary journey, sinking or capturing a total of 15 ships in 1914 and 1915, before finally running out of supplies and having to put into port in Virginia, where she was interned by the Americans and eventually converted into a US Navy troop transport (as the renamed USS Von Steuben). 1901-1914 German passenger liner The Kronprinz Wilhelm was launched on 30 March 1901 and started her maiden voyage on 17 September The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state The most famous German commerce raider of WWI probably was SMS Seeadler, a sailing ship commanded by the legendary Count Luckner. Felix Graf von Luckner (born Dresden, Germany, 9 June 1881, died Malmö, Sweden, 13 April 1966

The concept was revived in the Second World War. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In one incident, the German Kormoran (ex-merchantman Steiermark) managed to surprise and sink the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney, which approached too close, though the Kormoran herself was also sunk in the engagement. Early history Kormoran was built by Germaniawerft of Kiel and launched on 15 September 1938 as the merchant ship Steiermark of HAPAG A light cruiser is a Warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light Armoured cruiser " describing a small ship that carried armour in the same way Description Sydney was one of three Light cruisers originally ordered in 1931–1932 for the Royal Navy as the " Amphion class" This was the only occasion in history when an armed merchantman managed to sink a modern warship; in most cases auxiliary cruiser raiders tried to avoid confrontation with warships. A warship is a Ship that is built and primarily intended for Combat.

In World War II, the German Navy operated ten very successful auxiliary cruisers which ranged in tonnage from 3,860 - 9,400; typically these vessels were equipped with:

To preserve their cover, these ships flew the flags of neutral or occasionally Allied nations. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below A naval mine is a self-contained Explosive device placed in water to destroy Ships or Submarines Unlike Depth charges mines are deposited They were re-fuelled and provisioned by special supply ships and from Japanese island bases, or they simply reprovisioned themselves from prizes they had taken. Prize is a term used in Admiralty law to refer to Equipment, Vehicles, and Vessels captured during armed conflict

To counter the effectiveness of these disguises the Allies introduced the check-mate system in 1942 to identify individual ships on a one-by-one basis with the Admiralty in London. The check-mate system was a system of ship identification used by the Royal Navy during World War II. The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy.

During World War II German auxiliary cruisers are believed to have either sunk or captured some 800,000 tons of Allied shipping.

Compare to the Q-ship, which was a disguised merchantman for anti-submarine operations. Mystery Ship redirects here For the 1917 film serial see The Mystery Ship.

Others

The CAM Ship (from catapult armed merchantman) was a British merchantman fitted with a catapult that could launch, but not recover, a single fighter aircraft. A CAM ship was a World War II -era British Merchant ship used in Convoys as a quick emergency solution to the shortage of escort carriers

The Merchant Aircraft Carrier or MAC was a British or Dutch cargo ship with a flight deck that could carry a small number of aircraft. Merchant aircraft carriers (MAC were minimal Aircraft carriers used during World War II by Britain and the Netherlands as an emergency measure

CAM and MAC ships remained as civilian ships operated by civilian crews, with Fleet Air Arm or Royal Netherlands Navy "air parties". The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships The Dutch Naval Aviation Service ( Dutch: Marine-Luchtvaartdienst; MLD is the Naval aviation branch of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Ship lists

Spanish-American War

American auxiliary cruisers

Russo-Japanese War

Japanese merchant cruisers
Russian merchant cruisers

Note: This listing is incomplete.

World War I

Allied merchant cruisers

Note: This listing is incomplete.

Royal Navy
French Navy

German auxiliary cruisers

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Nationalist, whose navy was substantially outnumbered by the Republicans, made an extensive use of auxiliary cruisers during the Spanish civil war, two of them lend from Italy:

World War II

Allied merchant cruisers

The Armed merchant cruisers were made by requisitioning whatever ships seemed useful and then providing them with guns and other equipment. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ( National Navy) and often called La Royale ( The Royal Navy) is the maritime arm The Second Spanish Republic was the system of government in Spain between April 14 1931, when King Alfonso XIII left the country The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of They ranged from 6,000 tons to 22,000 tons. The armament varied but six 6-inch (152 mm) guns with 3-inch (76 mm) guns as secondary was usual. From 1941 many served as troopships.

Royal Australian Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Navy
French Navy (Marine Nationale)

French auxiliary cruisers were armed with 138 mm, 152 mm or 150 mm guns, 75 and 37 mm AA guns and 13. The Royal Australian Navy ( RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Operational history Westralia ’s time as an AMC was spent escorting convoys in the Pacific and Indian oceans especially from Australia The Royal New Zealand Navy ( RNZN) (Maori Te Taua Moana, The Sea Army) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. Civilian career Originally the SS Razmak, she was built at Greenock yard for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. For the history of Canada's naval forces after 1968 see Canadian Forces Maritime Command The Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN) was the Passenger ship (1930 - 1939 West Coast service Three ships the Prince David, ''Prince Henry'' and ''Prince Robert'' were ordered in The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale ( National Navy) and often called La Royale ( The Royal Navy) is the maritime arm 2 mm or 8 mm AA HMG

German auxiliary cruiser raiders

At the outbreak of war, the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) requisitioned a number of fast merchantmen and immediately sent them into naval shipyards to be converted into auxiliary cruisers. Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Kriegsmarine (English "War navy" was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945 during the Nazi regime superseding the These ships had at the time of building been fitted with extra strong decks specifically to facilitate the installation of military equipment when required, but this was the only difference between them and other merchantmen of the period. No precise plans had been drawn up for the conversion of these ships into warships, and consequently the conversion process was painfully long. Compared to the diversity of British auxiliary cruisers, the Hilfskreuzer were standardized insofar as possible. The ships themselves averaged approximately 7,000 tons. Armament usually consisted of six 15 cm (5. 9-inch) guns, between two and six torpedo tubes, and an assortment of 40 mm, 37 mm, and 20 mm automatic weapons. A torpedo tube is a device for launching Torpedoes in a horizontal direction Most of these merchant raiders carried an Arado Ar-196 seaplane for reconnaissance. Merchant raiders are Ships which disguise themselves as Non-combatant Merchant vessels whilst actually being armed and intending to attack enemy commerce The Ar 196 was a shipboard Reconnaissance aircraft built by the German firm Arado starting in 1936 A seaplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting on water Kormoran, Komet, and Michel were also equipped with small motor torpedo boats. Early history Kormoran was built by Germaniawerft of Kiel and launched on 15 September 1938 as the merchant ship Steiermark of HAPAG Construction and conversion Launched on 16 January 1937 as the Merchant ship Ems at DeSchiMAG shipyards in Bremen Construction and conversion After the AMC Widder returned to Germany, her engines were worn out A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval Ship designed to carry Torpedoes into battle In addition to armament, increased fuel, water, and coal storage had to be provided for as well. Furthermore, the raiders could not abandon the crews of their captures, so space had to be provided for prisoners. The first Hilfskreuzer got under way in March 1940, shortly before the Norwegian campaign. Operation Weserübung was the codename for Nazi Germany 's assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation

Japanese armed merchant cruisers

See also Japanese raiders in Indian Ocean Campaign and List of Japanese Auxiliary Cruiser Commerce Raiders. Construction and conversion The Orion was built in 1930 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as a freighter for HAPAGthe Hamburg-America Line. Early history Formerly a Freighter named Goldenfels, she was built by Bremer Vulkan in 1937 and was owned and operated by the Hansa Line Early history Built for HAPAG the Hamburg America Line, at Howaldtswerke, Kiel, she was launched in 1930 as the freighter Neumark Early history Formerly a Freighter named Santa Cruz, she was built by Deutsche Werft Hamburg (DWH in 1938 and was owned and operated by the Oldenburg Portuguese Early history Formerly a Freighter named Kandelfels, she was built by AG Weser in 1936 and was owned and operated by the Hansa Line Bremen Early history Built by Germaniawerft in 1936 as the freighter Cairo, she was operated by the Atlas Levant Line (ALL until being requisitioned for Kriegsmarine Construction and conversion Launched on 16 January 1937 as the Merchant ship Ems at DeSchiMAG shipyards in Bremen Early history Kormoran was built by Germaniawerft of Kiel and launched on 15 September 1938 as the merchant ship Steiermark of HAPAG Construction and conversion After the AMC Widder returned to Germany, her engines were worn out History The Togo was launched in August 1938 She had been built for the Woermann Line and carried the name M/S History Hansa was originally conceived as the cargo ship Glengarry. Japanese raiders in Indian Ocean Campaign In late 1942, enemy activities in the Indian Ocean had virtually come to an end This is a list of the Japanese Auxiliary Cruiser Commerce Raiders in WW2

Japan converted fourteen merchant ships to "armed merchant cruisers. " But, by the end of 1943, five had been sunk and seven had been converted back to merchant ships.

Italian armed merchant cruisers

Unlike the Germans and the Japanese, none of the armed merchant cruisers (or auxiliary cruisers) of the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina Italia) were deployed to destroy or capture Allied merchant ships. The Regia Marina ( Italian Royal Navy) dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification.

See also

References

  1. ^ Schmalenbach, Paul (1977). Details The Ramb I was built at Genoa by Ansaldo in 1937. It had a displacement of 3667 tons was oil powered and was capable of 18½ Events 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation Year 1941 ( MCMXLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (the link will display 1941 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. See also Italian Royal Navy - RN Ramb II Imperial Japanese Navy - Calitea II East African Campaign Events 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Convoy escort Ramb III never made it to East Africa. When Italy declared war on 10 June 1940, she was the only ship in the class in homeport See also Italian Royal Navy - RN Ramb IV and Aquileia East African Campaign A hospital ship is a Ship designated for primary function as a medical treatment facility or Hospital; most are operated by the Military Mystery Ship redirects here For the 1917 film serial see The Mystery Ship. Merchant raiders are Ships which disguise themselves as Non-combatant Merchant vessels whilst actually being armed and intending to attack enemy commerce Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship (DEMS was an Admiralty Trade Division program established in June 1939 to arm 5500 British merchant ships with an adequate defence against German Raiders. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85059-351-4.  
  2. ^ Carmania I
  3. ^ http://www.shawsavillships.co.uk/orduna_1.htm)

External links

Alfred Graf von Niezychowski ( July 28, 1888 &ndash June 13, 1964) was a Polish noble, a German
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic